Cybersecurity: Know More, Do More
To show compliance with NIST 800-171 and prepare for CMMC, contractors develop and maintain formal documents for submission to DoD prime contractors or subcontractors upon contract initiation or renewal. These documents include a System Security Plan (SSP) and Plan of Action with Milestones (POA&M).
Before they can handle classified or controlled but unclassified information (CUI), organizations are required to comply with minimum standards for cybersecurity established by governing bodies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
This legislation is a vital component of national security: not only does it mandate and codify basic cybersecurity practices for organizations in both the public and private sector, but it also helps organizations to identify blind spots and prepare for emerging threats they have not encountered before.
The cybersecurity standards produced by NIST are among the most important for businesses and federal contractors in the United States. Adherence to NIST standards is required by many federal contracts; outside the federal space, they have become an industry benchmark for cybersecurity programs across small governments, academic institutions and enterprise organizations.
Without a doubt, CMMC is the biggest change to cybersecurity legislation during the 2020s. For now, it primarily impacts contractors working directly with the Department of Defense (DoD), but other government agencies are beginning to require CMMC certification, and this trend will likely continue into the indefinite future.
Compliance with NIST standards and CMMC have become non-negotiable for any businesses in the federal space, and as the number of cyberthreats increase at a rapid pace, meeting the minimal standards for cybersecurity has become necessary for any organization to protect their revenue and customers.
People outside your organization will host, handle, and maintain data on your behalf. The sub-processor will have access to your sensitive information, which leaves you vulnerable to data breaches.
When you start working through maturity considerations, please keep in mind with CMMC that the DoD prescribes the baseline controls as a means to manage the DoD’s risks, not necessarily your business’ risks! No OSC should seriously consider itself “secure” by meeting just Level 1 or Level 2 CMMC controls. One reason is simply that CMMC only focuses on the DoD’s risk management for Confidentiality and Integrity of regulated data (FCI/CUI), while for the most part ignoring Availability (your ability to stay in business). The other reason is most OSCs also have other requirements that range from ITAR to PCI DSS to state/international data protection laws that they also have to contend with.
CMMC/NIST compliance is an important component of national security. It not only mandates and codifies basic cybersecurity practices for organizations in the public and private sectors, but also helps organizations identify blind spots and prepare for emerging threats they have yet to face.
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